SAN FRANCISCO
Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that he plans to give away all his wealth after providing for his young nephew, according to an intimate new profile published Thursday in Fortune
In the article, which proclaimed Cook as the “world’s greatest leader,” the chief executive of the largest company in the world said that he will set aside enough money for his now 10-year-old nephew to go to college and then give away the rest of his growing fortune to charitable organizations.
"You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change," said Cook, worth an estimated $120 million with another $665 million locked up in stocks.
While critics have charged Apple’s sense of innovation passed away with its co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, the company has soared to profitability like never before under Jobs’ successor. With the upcoming release of Apple Watch in April (the first new device line since Jobs released the iPad in 2010), the world will see if Cook can disrupt the mostly niche smartwatch market and haul it into the mainstream.
Considering how Apple just finished off the most profitable quarter of any company in history, the success of Apple Watch seems likely.
The magazine piece was published amid news that Apple is planning the release of a subscription music streaming service meant to rival Spotify.
The report filed by The New York Times Thursday claims the service will be closely linked to Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics in 2014, the type of large acquisition that Jobs avoided.
With its iTunes Store, Apple is the biggest purveyor of music in the world, but Internet streaming is eating into the industry. The new Beats-powered service will be the biggest change to Apple’s music division since iTunes was released in 2001.
